BRIEFLY

Banking & Finance

Former S&L Chief Acquitted: Robert A. Ferrante, the target of a five-year FBI investigation, was acquitted of all charges stemming from the operation of now-defunct Consolidated Savings Bank in Irvine. Three co-defendants were also acquitted, but two close associates, Ottavio A. Angotti and Raymond L. Arthun, were convicted of conspiracy and fraud counts relating to $4 million in loans that Consolidated made to Pyrotronics Corp., an Anaheim fireworks manufacturer. The other defendants acquitted were Peter Sardagna, a Ferrante associate; Ronald L. Bartholomew, a Consolidated lawyer; and Sigmund Kohnen, president of CB Financial Corp. in Oklahoma. The six had been charged with conspiracy and with causing Consolidated to misapply depositor funds and to make false entries on its books.